Famous person as patient?

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Have you ever had a famous person as a patient in hospital or clinic? You need not say the reason for their visit for sake of confidentiality, if they are still living. Did they expect or receive special or unique attention?

Were they humble or pretentious?

Specializes in Oncology, ID, Hepatology, Occy Health.

My general experience is that if you treat famous people naturally they are natural back.

When I worked in the UK I nursed a newspaper agony aunt, a film actor, a TV actress, the partner of a famous broadcaster, the daughter of a famous comedian, a radio DJ - they were all absolutely delightful. Here in France I've looked after somebody quite famous connected to the world of professional football and a politician - also both delightful.

Of course there are exceptions. In the UK I came across one TV personality and one very minor, distant member of the royal family - both absolute b****

I guess they do a job just like anyone else and you'll get the nice and the not so nice. I don't give special favours. I was once waiting in a waiting area as a patient, a moderately famous singer came in and the staff were almost licking his boots, and he was whisked straight in. That is unacceptable - a patient is a patient and they all deserve respect, but nobody deserves special treatment.

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I had a patient and his name was "Jesus Christ" and his Father's Name was Gawd!

We sedated him! Boom!

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Specializes in Adult and pediatric emergency and critical care.

I’ve taken care of more famous people and their families than I can count. Professional athletes, national media reporters, politicians, several heirs to european monarchies, CEOs who’s names are nationally known, and so on.

We are a bit well known amongst those circles for not caring about anyone’s celebrity status, and treating everyone equally.

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8 hours ago, kbrn2002 said:

Oh yeah, I think most places know that famous person! Be careful, say their name out loud and sure as heck they'll be there soon.

You took care of Beetlejuice?

7 hours ago, DavidFR said:

When I worked in the UK I nursed a newspaper agony aunt...

I am intrigued. What is a newspaper agony aunt? It sounds delightfully British.

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Specializes in Emergency.
2 hours ago, turtlesRcool said:

You took care of Beetlejuice?

I am intrigued. What is a newspaper agony aunt? It sounds delightfully British.

It sounds like an agony aunt is one of those "Ask Alice" columns but British

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On 4/21/2020 at 9:55 AM, Mywords1 said:

What about celebrities that make their health problems, diseases public? So many, especially in the news.

Is it wrong to mention that you knew them?

Is this research to see how many nurses would reveal the famous people who they cared for?

Side note: Why are posters actually hinting at the celebrities who were under their care? Call it paranoia but that is not wise. There should be no hints at all - the patient's profession, when the patient came in for care, the patient's gender, the relatives of the patients, what the patient was in for, etc. One hint could be enough to figure out who you are talking about, especially if someone has the time to look at your previous posts and figure out where you worked and when.

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Some infamous patients are even known between state and private hospitals. Now you got to have a TOP NOTCH reputation to get to that esteem level. I know of one and my city has I believe 10 large hospitals by 3 corporations. This person is known by at least all of them. That's special.

___

All kidding aside, it is sad because they are just shuffled around. Clearly these people have issues (mental), so they are put in one group home or psych facility until they are kicked out and the cycle goes on. The cycle goes on until they commit a violent crime and get put in prison, or end up committing suicide.

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On 4/27/2020 at 11:02 PM, Firemedicmommy said:

In my district we have 2 conjoined twins at a local nursing home. They are awesome, and have great stories to tell. We have 10 pages of separate protocols just for them. When I first heard about it I thought “OMG I have so many questions right now”

Oh, I believe I know which twins you are talking about. Medication pass, must be interesting.

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Specializes in Dialysis.
11 hours ago, DTWriter said:

Side note: Why are posters actually hinting at the celebrities who were under their care? Call it paranoia but that is not wise. There should be no hints at all - the patient's profession, when the patient came in for care, the patient's gender, the relatives of the patients, what the patient was in for, etc. One hint could be enough to figure out who you are talking about, especially if someone has the time to look at your previous posts and figure out where you worked and when.

I'm chuckling a little. If anyone can figure out who I was talking about from a 25+ year career in 4 states, multiple cities, and various specialties, they are one amazing detective! I know some may not fit that profile, but in my case, no worries, as I know jerk celebs-and wannabe celebs-exist everywhere. I never even thought about someone trying to sniff someone out

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2 hours ago, Hoosier_RN said:

I'm chuckling a little. If anyone can figure out who I was talking about from a 25+ year career in 4 states, multiple cities, and various specialties, they are one amazing detective! I know some may not fit that profile, but in my case, no worries, as I know jerk celebs-and wannabe celebs-exist everywhere. I never even thought about someone trying to sniff someone out

I know, right? I'm not sure how anyone is going to connect to a specific individual from the generic descriptions I've seen here: "a politician," "an actor," "a professional athlete," or a step further out - "parents of an actor" or "secretary of a politician." Especially for someone working in California, greater DC, or the NY metro area, there is basically zero chance anyone is going to be able to connect "the back up dancer in a 70s band," "a politician," or "someone in the film industry" to a specific individual. Even if you're a little more specific like "a pro football player," that narrows it down to about 1,700 active players in the NFL at a given time, add in the descriptor "a few years ago" and you're probably looking at 10,000 people who might be a candidate for the patient in question.

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1 hour ago, turtlesRcool said:

I know, right? I'm not sure how anyone is going to connect to a specific individual from the generic descriptions I've seen here: "a politician," "an actor," "a professional athlete," or a step further out - "parents of an actor" or "secretary of a politician." Especially for someone working in California, greater DC, or the NY metro area, there is basically zero chance anyone is going to be able to connect "the back up dancer in a 70s band," "a politician," or "someone in the film industry" to a specific individual. Even if you're a little more specific like "a pro football player," that narrows it down to about 1,700 active players in the NFL at a given time, add in the descriptor "a few years ago" and you're probably looking at 10,000 people who might be a candidate for the patient in question.

Yeah, yeah. If it is that generic, the chance of figuring out the patient's identity is nearly zero, but the risk is still there.

Some of the posts have been fun to read but there are some posts that are like "a bit too much information there."

I guess of saying "there should be no hints at all," I would say "be careful of how much you reveal."

Don't underestimate the possibility of a group lurking in shadows, watching and waiting for nurses to mess up.

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3 hours ago, DTWriter said:

Yeah, yeah. If it is that generic, the chance of figuring out the patient's identity is nearly zero, but the risk is still there.

Some of the posts have been fun to read but there are some posts that are like "a bit too much information there."

I guess of saying "there should be no hints at all," I would say "be careful of how much you reveal."

Don't underestimate the possibility of a group lurking in shadows, watching and waiting for nurses to mess up.

Know the site "Not Always Right" some lady complained an employee mentioned her on it. Why she admit to being the awful customer is the question.

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